RulesofCivilProcedure.com Civil Procedure · Every State

§ 1161.When Tenant For Term Less Than Life Guilty of Unlawful Detainer

Title 3. Of Summary Proceedings · Chapter 4. Summary Proceedings for Obtaining Possession of Real Property in Certain Cases · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1161 lists the grounds that make a tenant guilty of unlawful detainer — holding over after the lease term ends, defaulting on rent after a three-day pay-or-quit notice, breaching other lease terms after a three-day notice to cure, committing waste or nuisance or an unauthorized sublease, or failing to move out after giving notice to vacate — each with its own notice rules.

Full Text of § 1161

Text size

A tenant of real property, for a term less than life, or the executor or administrator of the tenant's estate heretofore qualified and now acting or hereafter to be qualified and act, is guilty of unlawful detainer:
1. When the tenant continues in possession, in person or by subtenant, of the property, or any part thereof, after the expiration of the term for which it is let to the tenant; provided the expiration is of a nondefault nature however brought about without the permission of the landlord, or the successor in estate of the landlord, if applicable; including the case where the person to be removed became the occupant of the premises as a servant, employee, agent, or licensee and the relation of master and servant, or employer and employee, or principal and agent, or licensor and licensee, has been lawfully terminated or the time fixed for occupancy by the agreement between the parties has expired; but nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as preventing the removal of the occupant in any other lawful manner; but in case of a tenancy at will, it shall first be terminated by notice, as prescribed in the Civil Code.
2. When the tenant continues in possession, in person or by subtenant, without the permission of the landlord, or the successor in estate of the landlord, if applicable, after default in the payment of rent, pursuant to the lease or agreement under which the property is held, and three days' notice, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, in writing, requiring its payment, stating the amount that is due, the name, telephone number, and address of the person to whom the rent payment shall be made, and, if payment may be made personally, the usual days and hours that person will be available to receive the payment (provided that, if the address does not allow for personal delivery, then it shall be conclusively presumed that upon the mailing of any rent or notice to the owner by the tenant to the name and address provided, the notice or rent is deemed received by the owner on the date posted, if the tenant can show proof of mailing to the name and address provided by the owner), or the number of an account in a financial institution into which the rental payment may be made, and the name and street address of the institution (provided that the institution is located within five miles of the rental property), or if an electronic funds transfer procedure has been previously established, that payment may be made pursuant to that procedure, or possession of the property, shall have been served upon the tenant and if there is a subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, also upon the subtenant.
The notice may be served at any time within one year after the rent becomes due. In all cases of tenancy upon agricultural lands, if the tenant has held over and retained possession for more than 60 days after the expiration of the term without any demand of possession or notice to quit by the landlord or the successor in estate of the landlord, if applicable, the tenant shall be deemed to be holding by permission of the landlord or successor in estate of the landlord, if applicable, and shall be entitled to hold under the terms of the lease for another full year, and shall not be guilty of an unlawful detainer during that year, and the holding over for that period shall be taken and construed as a consent on the part of a tenant to hold for another year.
3. When the tenant continues in possession, in person or by subtenant, after a neglect or failure to perform other conditions or covenants of the lease or agreement under which the property is held, including any covenant not to assign or sublet, than the one for the payment of rent, and three days' notice, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, in writing, requiring the performance of those conditions or covenants, or the possession of the property, shall have been served upon the tenant, and if there is a subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, also, upon the subtenant. Within three days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays and other judicial holidays, after the service of the notice, the tenant, or any subtenant in actual occupation of the premises, or any mortgagee of the term, or other person interested in its continuance, may perform the conditions or covenants of the lease or pay the stipulated rent, as the case may be, and thereby save the lease from forfeiture; provided, if the conditions and covenants of the lease, violated by the lessee, cannot afterward be performed, then no notice, as last prescribed herein, need be given to the lessee or the subtenant, demanding the performance of the violated conditions or covenants of the lease.
A tenant may take proceedings, similar to those prescribed in this chapter, to obtain possession of the premises let to a subtenant or held by a servant, employee, agent, or licensee, in case of that person's unlawful detention of the premises underlet to or held by that person.
4. Any tenant, subtenant, or executor or administrator of that person's estate heretofore qualified and now acting, or hereafter to be qualified and act, assigning or subletting or committing waste upon the demised premises, contrary to the conditions or covenants of the lease, or maintaining, committing, or permitting the maintenance or commission of a nuisance upon the demised premises or using the premises for an unlawful purpose, thereby terminates the lease, and the landlord, or the landlord's successor in estate, shall upon service of three days' notice to quit upon the person or persons in possession, be entitled to restitution of possession of the demised premises under this chapter. For purposes of this subdivision, a person who commits or maintains a public nuisance as described in Section 3482.8 of the Civil Code, or who commits an offense described in subdivision (c) of Section 3485 of the Civil Code, or subdivision (c) of Section 3486 of the Civil Code, or uses the premises to further the purpose of that offense shall be deemed to have committed a nuisance upon the premises.
5. When the tenant gives written notice as provided in Section 1946 of the Civil Code of the tenant's intention to terminate the hiring of the real property, or makes a written offer to surrender which is accepted in writing by the landlord, but fails to deliver possession at the time specified in that written notice, without the permission of the landlord, or the successor in estate of the landlord, if applicable.
6. A landlord or its agent shall not charge a tenant a fee for serving, posting, or otherwise delivering any notice, as described in this section.
7. As used in this section, "tenant" includes any person who hires real property except those persons whose occupancy is described in subdivision (b) of Section 1940 of the Civil Code.
8. This section shall become operative on February 1, 2025.

Plain-English Summary

This is the heart of California's eviction statute. It sets out, ground by ground, the situations where a tenant who once had lawful possession becomes an unlawful detainer defendant. Paragraph 1 covers the tenant who stays after the lease term expires without the landlord's permission, including former employees, agents, or licensees whose right to occupy has ended; a tenancy at will still needs its own termination notice under the Civil Code first.

Paragraph 2 is the nonpayment ground — the one behind the familiar three-day notice to pay rent or quit. That notice must state the amount due, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays from the three-day count, and it has to tell the tenant who to pay, how, and where, including mail and electronic-transfer options. Paragraph 3 covers breach of any other lease covenant, such as an unauthorized sublease, and gives the tenant three days to cure before the lease is forfeited. Paragraph 4 is different: waste, nuisance, an unauthorized assignment, or use of the property for an unlawful purpose (including certain nuisance offenses defined in the Civil Code) ends the lease immediately, so the three-day notice here is an unconditional notice to quit, not a chance to cure.

Paragraph 5 covers tenants who gave their own notice to vacate, or whose written offer to surrender was accepted, but who then failed to move out on time. The remaining paragraphs bar landlords from charging fees to serve these notices, define "tenant" by cross-reference to Civil Code § 1940(b), and note the section's February 1, 2025 operative date. Every ground here connects to how the notice must be served under § 1162 and to the complaint requirements in § 1166.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three-day notice grounds for unlawful detainer under § 1161?

Nonpayment of rent (paragraph 2), breach of another lease covenant that can be cured (paragraph 3), and waste, nuisance, unauthorized assignment or subletting, or unlawful use of the property, which forfeits the lease outright (paragraph 4).

Can a tenant fix the problem and stay after a three-day notice?

It depends on the ground. A tenant served for nonpayment or for a curable covenant breach can pay the rent or fix the breach within three days and keep the lease. A notice under paragraph 4, for waste, nuisance, or an unlawful assignment, does not offer that chance to cure — that lease is treated as already terminated.

What must a three-day pay-or-quit notice include?

The amount of rent due, and information on how and where to pay it, including the name, phone number, and address of the person to receive payment, and, if applicable, account or electronic-transfer details.

Does holding over after a lease expires always count as unlawful detainer?

Yes, once the tenant continues in possession without the landlord's permission after the term expires, subject to the tenancy-at-will notice requirement and the special 60-day holdover rule for agricultural leases.

Can a landlord charge a fee for serving these notices?

No. Section 1161(6) bars a landlord or its agent from charging a tenant a fee for serving, posting, or otherwise delivering any notice described in this section.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2024 ch 287 (SB 611),s 6, eff. 1/1/2025. Added by Stats 2020 ch 37 (AB 3088),s 16, eff. 8/31/2020.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 29, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: ccp 1161 unlawful detainer grounds3 day notice to pay rent or quit californiacalifornia eviction notice requirementsthree day notice to cure or quit